Just Friends, I Swear
by Constanza Rose
Summary: Amy has a new plan up her sleeve to get Sonic to go out with her, and it works! But will Sonic go quitely along with it or start running? Find out. CreamxTails
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, I started this one a year ago and deiced it would be fun to finish write it. It is for the month of February, at least that's how long I am giving myself to finish it. I will pick on my other story **_**later.**_** Also I might do a sequel to Accidental House of Horrors, but that won't start till August. All for now, Enjoy! **

Not a Date?

"Will you stand still you pesky little rat!"

"Say please and I might consider it."

The evil Doctor Eggman fumed at the idea the daring little girl proposed. "Fine! Will you PLEASE stand still so I can smash you!" Screamed the doctor as two metal hands came crashing down, nearly hitting the young pink hedgehog. The girl swung her hammer at full force, meeting the cold unfeeling metal hands and knocking the attack aside. The giant robot that the 300IQ genius sat in started to tip over, but quickly caught it's balance.

"Why you little.."

"Hey you only asked me to stay still, you don't say anything about not fighting back."Amy Rose said slyly as she leaned on her hammer, casually but keeping her guard up. Even more angry than before Eggman began pushing buttons and pulling levers. The great metal giant moved forward and strike out with its steel limbs so fast it nearly hit Amy.

Amy swung her hammer, blocking every punch it threw at her, but the machine kept moving forward. Amy could feel sweat forming as she continued trying to keep up with the fearsome robot. Suddenly her hammer could take it no more and cracked, sending splitters flying everywhere. The evil doctor grinned wickedly. "Oh no!" Gasp Amy as she stepped back.

"HA! I got you now!" Eggman yelled triumphantly.

"Think again egghead!" Both Dr. Eggman and Amy turned their heads to see Sonic the hedgehog ridding on the wing of Tails trusty X-tornado. Before Eggman could do a thing, Soinc leaped off the plane and spin dash right through Eggman's robot.

" You rotten hog! I'll get you and your friend, just you wait!" Eggman pressed the escaped button and went flying as his creation fell apart into a big heap.

"Yeah, like I never heard that one before." Sonic said smugly as he brushed off some dust.

"Oh Sonic!" Amy cried as she threw her arms around him. "You were great!"

"Easy Amy," Sonic reply nervously " you were 'ret so bad yourself. I sure glad you were able to hold him off long enough for Tails to come get me."

"Knowing that you would come to my rescue gave me the strength to hold on." Amy said softly as she pulled her favorite hero closer to her.

"Amy, cut that out. Your hurting me!" Sonic said as she tried to pull away from his number one fan.

"Hey!" Yelled Tails from his plane, "Is everyone okay down there?"

"Yeah buddy, we're cool." Sonic yelled back.

"Great! I'm going to take the tornado back to the shop then. See ya guys later."

Both Sonic and Amy waved at their friend as he flew away. Sonic and Amy were now completely alone in the middle of the great forest. Sonic gently cleared his throat, Amy look up at him and saw that she still had her arms around his neck. She pulled away blushing, Sonic rubbed his neck and pretended not to see the red tint on Amy's soft cheeks. "So I guess I'll see you later than, thanks for the help."

"Sonic wait, there's something I wanted to ask you."

'_Oh boy, it comes, another marriage proposal or date_', thought Sonic as he put on his clueless face and turned back to the young girl asking "What is it Amy?"

"Um, well I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow."

'_Hang out? Well at least it's not a marriage proposal, but better tests the water first.' _"You mean like a date?" He asked as naively as he could.

"No, not anything like that. Just a bite to eat and maybe a nice walk."

"Sounds like a date." Sonic said flatly, while secretly amused at the new angle Amy was going for.

"Look, I'm just asking if you want to hang out with me as a friend. No holding hands, no kissing and no commitments." Amy stated firmly, her hands on her hips and bright emerald eyes glaring at him. Sonic looked cool and collect on the outside, bored even, but inside he was laughing. She really expected him to believe that she wasn't going to try any moves on him, after all the years of chasing and death hugs. _'Come on Amy, I'm not that clueless.'_ Still it could be fun, a very small apart of him said, while the other part yelled "RUN!" Amy glare soften as her body relaxed and said softly "I know it's hard to believe but I really just want to hang out, I mean we are friends right?"

Sonic looked at her one last time to make up his mind, then shrugged his shoulders saying, "Ah, want the heck. Sure. We can "hang out" tomorrow." "Really," Amy asked, trying not to sound too excited "you promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." He replayed smugly, winking at Amy. "Come on Amy, I'll give you a lift back home."

"Gee thanks Sonic." Amy said blushing.

"It's nothing, besides what are friends for?"

XXX

Dose Amy have a new plan or has she given up? And will Sonic be ready for anything? Find out…soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Tricked!

The next day Sonic woke up feeling fresh and new. He gave a big loud yaw and stretched a bit in his room before dashing outside for his daily morning run. As he zoomed through town he couldn't help but noticed something different. There were all sorts of stands set up that had nothing but flowers, candy and stuff toys. The blue blur just shrug his shoulders as he raced back to his house to shower, grab a bite to eat and then run over to Tails shop.

The young fox was carefully arranging a small bouquet of pink roses as Sonic skid through the front doorway. "Hey pal! What's up?" Sonic asked, not seeing the flowers yet.

"Hey Sonic! Not much going on today, I just finished polishing the tornado."Tails replied cheerfully, Sonic whistled as he walked into the hanger to look at Tails's work. "It looks great buddy."

"Thanks."Tails called out so that Sonic could hear him "So did you have a good run this morning?"

"You bet!" Sonic answered as he walked back into the room where Tails was, "but it kind of weird, Oh LOOK! My hacky sack! I've been looking all over for this." Sonic wasted no time in picking up his blue and red toy and playing with it. Tails look over his shoulders and smiled saying "Oh yeah, you left the here last week, I just kept forgetting to tell you about it. So what was so weird about this morning?"

"Well, I guess it's not that weird. It's just that there were a lot of these little shops that had all the same stuff." Sonic explained as he continued kicking his sack. Tails stopped with his work and turned around but said nothing, wondering if Sonic would figure it out for himself. "I mean why would that many people need flowers, candy and stuff bears. Hey you have some too!" Sonic pointed out quickly.

"Yeah, they're a gift for Cream." Tails said slowly, but Sonic didn't even blink. "That's nice, but it's not her birthday." Sonic huffed out as he kicked up his foot. "No, it's not." Sonic could sense that Tail was trying to clue him in on something and said "Tails what…." And then it happened, a light lit and Sonic saw the calendar be hide Tails. First he saw the month and then the date with a big red heart standing out like a stop light. Sonic's little blue and red hacky sack hit the floor, the sound echoing in his ears as time and reality faded back. He could now feel the sweat on his forehead and new drops forming as a warning bell ringed with the echoing of the fallen hacky sack. Swallowing hard he asked in the shakiest voice Tails ever heard him speak in a question to which he already knew the answer. "Tails, what it today?"

Tails sighed and replied "The 14th of February, Valentine's Day."

Sonic just stood there dazed, Tails was about to ask if he was okay when Sonic started to speak, normally. "If today is Valentine's Day then that means, I BEEN TRICKED!"

XXXX

"So I don't get it," said Cream loudly as she took some cookies out the oven, "you and Sonic are going out?" A "yep." Was heard from the other room, Cream began gently placing cookies on to a cooling rack with Amy's pink spatula, then asked "On Valentine's Day, but as friends?"

"Well what can I say, I got desperate okay. Now, tell me, what you think." The slightly confessed rabbit turned to her friend and smiled with approval. Amy was dressed in a sleeveless dark green dress that flowed around her mid thigh with a sash tie on one side in a loose bow, black leggings, and dark green ballet flats. In her hair she wore a sparkling black head band and her ears were adorned with multicolor star shaped earrings that dangled. Her quills flowed gracefully in waves around her head, making her look energetic and stunning. A smoky hue of green, grey and black on the eyes, a hint of rouge on the cheeks and a taste of shining strawberry lip gloss were the final details on Amy's face. "Wow Amy, you look amazing. Sonic is sure lucky to have someone as beautiful as you for a friend."Cream teased.

"Oh stop it Cream." Amy said laughing slightly as she slumped into a nearby chair. Cream turned back to her cookies, but her ears were ready to listen to her friend. Giving a deep sigh Amy picked up a triple chocolate chip cookie from the heart shape plate. She stared at it, not sure if she really wanted a cookie or chocolate and sitting back in her chair she continued staring at it. "Every year Sonic skips out and hides when it's Valentine's Day and I'm stuck playing third wheel or a shut-in. For once I was lucky that Eggman was up to no good, normally Sonic would have been in hiding already. I would say that was the first time his chaos worked in my favor." Amy could feel tears at the corners of her eyes but she kept her focus on the cookie in her hand. Cream was watching her, not sure what to say and wanted to make sure that Amy said everything she needed to say. When Amy said nothing else Cream asked gently "And what about this "hang out" thing? Did you plan on it or are you giving up?"

Amy scoffed and turned her attention away from the sugary treat, "Not at all, I mean I guess you could say that it was just a piece of advice that I took to heart. As for giving up, I don't know." Cream nodded in understanding. She cocked her head to one side asking, "Who's Advice?" Amy turned and smiled at the rabbit, then stood up saying proudly "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that for once I won't be alone on Valentine's Day, even if it's not a date. I'll take what I can get!"

"Well I wish you luck." Cream said worriedly as Amy bit into the cookie.

XXX

"So, do you know where you're going on this non-date?" Tails asked as he needlessly fluffed Cream's flowers so that Sonic wouldn't see his grin. "No and I don't know why you think it's so funny." Sonic said grouchily. He sank even lower in his chair and sighed. "What am I going to do?"

Tails glanced over his shoulder at the sulking hedgehog and frowned, "Ah come on Sonic, what's so horrible about going out with Amy? After all you two are friends and you do owe her a date or two, so what's the problem?"

"One, it's not just Amy, it's my number one fan. Two, she tricked me into going out with her on Valentine's Day! So yeah, it's a date. And three, she like twelve!"

"Whoa, um, actually Sonic she's fourteen."

"Really? I thought the age gap was bigger than that? Aren't we like five years apart?"

"That's how long she's been chasing you!"

"Oh."

"Now I'm really connived that you need to make things up to her." Tail said shaking his head. Sonic rubbed his neck feeling guilty for all the stood ups he pulled on Amy in the past. He never meant to stand her up, somehow Eggman always mange to show up right before his dates with her. Like some weird secret psychic deal or something, but that's not going to happen, not after already beating him yesterday. "I guess your right about that pal, I do owe her. But she said it was not a date."

"Well just because it's Valentine's day it doesn't mean you just can't go out as friends. Cream and I go out every year to the festival of hearts since she turned twelve."

"Aren't you two a little young to be dating?" Sonic asked shyly. Tails rolled his eyes as a very small tint appeared on his cheeks. "No, and we are not dating. Besides it's not a date when a third person is there."Sonic's ears and spirit perked up. "What do you say?" "That it's not a date when there's a third person there." The two looked at each other in deep silent for a minute or two, then before Sonic could even ask his best friend for a tiny favor, the young fox shouted "Forget it!" and walked out of the room.

XXX

**What was Sonic's favor? What dose Cream really think and was that cookie good? Find out next time!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

A Rose Is a Rose

Ding-Dong.

"I'll get it!" Cried Cream as she rushed down the stairs. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror for one last check. Ding-Dong

"One second please." Cream twirled once more, enjoying the feel of her pink silk skirt swirling around with her. The door rang one more time when Cream opened the door; Tails froze when he saw Cream. She look so lovely in her soft pink dress, and felt heat creeping in his cheeks when he spotted the pink lip gloss on her lips. "Hi Tails." Tails gulp and held the roses up to her, hoping that his voice would soon return before he made a complete fool of himself. "For me? Tails, they're so beautiful. Thank you."

"Glad you like them." Tails finally got out, "And they're not the only thing beautiful." Cream pretend to smell them to hide her blushing from him, but the act only made Tails a tad more hot in the collar. "You're so sweet Tails, come inside I have a gift for you too."

"I hope it's your triple chocolate chip cookies!"

"You guess it!" Cream said laughing.

The two were so stuck on their little cloud of heaven that they didn't sense Amy watching them. Even though she was a bit envy of the two she was definitely happy for them. And even though Cream was only thirteen, Vanilla trusted Tails enough to be good to her, plus he was only a year older than her. In a way Amy was the chaperon for Cream every valentine's day, but now that she was going to be with Sonic this would their first official date. She started to walk down the stairs as Cream lead Tails into the Amy's kitchen. The pink hedgehog was a bit concern that Sonic didn't show up with Tails and hesitantly walked into the kitchen to find out why. Tails was holding his box of homemade cookies and nearly dropped them when he saw Amy walking in, "Wow. You look amazing Amy!"

"Thanks Tails. So should we get going to the fair?" Cream and Tails looked at Amy in confusion when Tails remembered his message. "Actually Amy, Sonic told me to tell you to wait for him here. In fact he should be here ten minutes."

"Really." Amy could believe it; she wasn't going to be stood up!

Cream claps her hand feeling so happy for her friend. "Then maybe we should get going Tails." Tails looked from one female to the other and got what they were implying.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea too! You know crowds and stuff."

The two quickly walked out the door, Cream turned back for a sec to wish Amy luck and close the door firmly. Amy was left alone in a daze, it was happening, it was really happening! She was going to be alone with the boy of her dreams and he was going to be here in… eight minutes! Amy did her owe little 'sonic boom' to her bedroom to touch up. Tails and Cream liked her outfit but maybe she should have gone with a more romantic look! Amy looked herself over and wonder if she had time to change but then she remember that this was not exactly a date. That and she too liked the way she looked_. _Amy did have however one final touch to add, a dab of lilac perfume, Sonic's favorite smell. Following Sonic did have its advantages, but boy was it hard to find. She looked at the clock on her dresser, three minutes to go.

Breathing deep she deiced to go down stairs and sit in the living room couch to wait for him. As she waited for those three minutes to past her heart rate began to rise slowly and she was flooded with the idea that it would have been better if he had said no. But she pushed the idea away, she was getting want she wanted and dammit she was going to be happy about it. Date or no date.

XXX

Amy's heart was not the only one racing. The young speedster felt that his was beating twice as fast than normal. As he neared Amy's house a thought struck him and Sonic came to a halt in front of one of the many shops in town. Even thought Amy clearly stated that this was not a date, it didn't feel right to show up at her door empty handed. He looked at the shop and puzzled if it would be a good idea to get her something.

Indecently the old women spotted the questing hedgehog and called out to him, "Whatever you are looking for boy, I sure I can help you find it." Sonic jumped and looked at her gently beckoning with her hand to on in. Rubbing his neck sleepily he asked "Do you think you would have anything for a girl friend and I mean friend." The old women chuckled answering "As I said young man, I sure I can help you out."

Sonic walked into the shop and looked around, the entrance was full of flowers and not just roses. Daisies, lilies, daffodils, orchids and much more. Sonic thought that a single rose would be a good idea and was about to pick a red rose when the women cleared her throat making Sonic stopped to look at her. "I thought it was for a friend?" "It is." Sonic said pulling back, feeling a little embarrass.

"Them may I suggest these yellow ones, in the language of flowers they mean friendship, joy and new beginnings." Sonic looked at them with interest but saw another color rose and felt strangely drawn to it.

"What about that one there, what does that one mean?"

The old women raised her eye brow at him, but gave him the knowledge he wanted to know. Sonic didn't look at the women as she explained to him the meaning of flower. And even though he now knew the meaning Sonic could not look away from it. "Young man are you sure this young lady is just a friend?"

Sonic jumped and said "Yeah of course she is! It's just that this is the first time we are, ah, 'hanging out'."

The old women looked at him for a moment then burst into a laughing fit, Sonic crossed his arms wondering what was so funny about this. When the women finally finished she pick up one yellow rose with ruff edges and one of the ones Sonic was looking at and said in a low snicker "Follow me."

Sonic really felt like leaving but didn't want to be rude to the old lady, even thought she did laugh at him. He followed her deep into her shop and watch her put each rose in its own box and tied it with a ribbon matching to color of the roses inside. When she was finish she handed him the box with the yellow rose inside and whispered to him

"Give this to her first and if you feel that the color does not match your true feeling, come back and give her this one. In fact I have a chain at the festival; I'll send it to my sister." Sonic nodded but wonder why she was doing this for him and why she was whispering when they were the only ones in the store.

"Good now run along, Mr. Sonic and I hope your friend enjoys her rose."

"Thanks, but how do..."

"Deary who wouldn't know your name." was all she said as she showed him out the store.

The blue hedgehog smiled at the lady and gave her his trademark thumps up and rush back towards Amy's house. The old women watch him disappeared in the distance sighing "Oh, to be young again." Then spotted a few more customers and rushed to their service.

Xxx

**Next part will be up soon! Thank you for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry the lateness, I don't have internet at my grandma's and for whatever reason on Sunday I couldn't log back in. Anyhow, thank you so much for your reviews and adds, they do mean a lot! **

*******This is a re-edit version, only spelling errors and grammar changes****.***

It Begins

'_Longest minute ever!' thought Amy as she paced around in her living room. All feelings of happiness, regret, and fear were at this moment all mixed up in one pink hedgehog. All her fan girl dreams were coming true, Sonic was on his way to pick her up from her house, take her out for a day and not just any day, Valentine's Day. The one thing that would make this perfect is, if by a series of events, they fall in love and end the day as a couple. Amy sighed wishfully at the thought, but then remembered that sort of thing only happens in movies. She glanced at the hanging clock. Only 30 seconds to go!_

"Okay Amy, remember, you two are only hanging out, it's not a date! So that means no hugging, kissing or holding hands. And absolutely no fawning over him or you'll blow it!" She said to herself. "I can do this, I can do this, I can..." As the words left her mouth her ear twitched at a very faint but familiar sound. "Oh Chaos he's here!" She shrieked gleefully. Amy could hardly keep herself from jumping joy circles, that is 'til she heard a knock on her door. Amy covered her mouth and stared at the door.

"Knock-knock", sounded again.

Like a flash Amy raced to the top of the stairs and yelled, "Coming!" and raced back down to the door to look through the peep hole. Sonic was standing there looking a bit bored and nervous. _Why he is nervous? _Felling like he was being watched Sonic looked back at the door. Amy turned away and leaned her back against the door. She covered her mouth to hide her high pitch squeal of delight. Sonic being impatient as always, knocked again... Amy did one last check in the mirror and turned to open the door.

The door seemed to open in slow motion as they came into each other's view. Their eyes met and for whatever strange reason neither could move or speak.

(At the festival)

"Do you think they're okay Tails?" Cream asked as she licked her ice cream cone.

Tails turned from is treat, not noticing a small dab on is nose. "I'm sure they are doing just fine Cream. Besides, Sonic said that he would meet us here for the fireworks tonight."

Cream giggled as she spotted the melted chocolate ice cream on Tails's nose. She gently wipe it off with her napkin, Tails smiled at her and thanked her. "You're welcome Tails; I guess I'm just worried about Amy."

"Oh don't worry about her", Cream replied " I bet she's having a great time talking up a storm with Sonic."

(Back at Amy's house)

The two stared at each other, waiting for the other person to say or do something. To Sonic it was sheer miracle that Amy didn't leap at him for joy that he made it. _'She must have been serious about this not being a date.' _Sonic felt himself relaxing a little but a small part of him felt a little let down. Amy was as surprised as Sonic. Amy calmly spoke up, "I'm glad that you made it Sonic, would you like to come in for a bit."

Sonic blinked at her than smiled saying "Sure." When Sonic was inside he presented the white box and the young rose, "Here, I hope you like it."

Amy looked down at the box and looked back up at Sonic and smiled happily. "Thank you, I'm sure, I will." Amy took the box but as she did their hands touched for a moment. They both jumped at the sensation, then laughed nervously.

Sonic stepped away , "Umm, can you give me one sec?", Amy nodded and walked in the kitchen.

Sonic dashed to the restroom to throw some water on his face. "Come on Sonic! Get a grip on yourself! It's only Amy!" , "What's the big deal; you've been on hundreds of dates and hung out with plenty of girls! So why is she the only one that gets under your skin?" Sonic breathed in and out a few time to cool his head and as his mind calmed an answer chimed _'Maybe you are afraid.' _Sonic closed his eyes and looked away from his image. _'No, I fear nothing, I'm just…' _Sonic sighed once more and turned to open the door.

Amy gazed at the beautiful yellow roses as she poured water into its vase. It was the brightest yellow she had ever seen. Loving flowers and having the name 'Rose' of course Amy knew the meaning of the color but was surprised that Sonic knew too. The only problem was that the message was a bit mixed. While yellow roses did mean friendship and joy, a yellow roses with red tips meant _falling in love. _

_XXXXXXX_

Sonic walked into the kitchen feeling more confident with himself and spotted the young girl admiring her gift. He chuckled and asked "Do you like it? The lady at the shop said that it meant friendship."

Amy turned to him and said gently "Its beautiful, and the red tips on it are so cute." Amy watched to see if Sonic would say anything more at the flower but Sonic rubbed his neck saying,

"Um yeah, they're great I guess."

Amy's smile dropped a bit but she pulled herself up before Sonic could notice and asked " So where do you want to go?"

The blue hedgehog could not believe his ears, she made no plans for them! Sonic shrugged saying "I don't know, are you hungry? We could grab a bit to eat."

"Okay." Amy replied walking passed him to grab her coat. "if you don't mind, I know a place."

Sonic perked up and asked, "Do they have chili dogs?"

"Of course silly." Amy winked at him.

Sonic grinned at her,

Amy stared back at him wondering why he was grinning.

Before she had time to ask he ran towards her quickly scooping her up in his arms. Sonic's grin widened as Amy squeaked, leaving the the house at half the speed of sound wasn't normal for her. Amy held on tight to her hero and he couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of her soft cheek on his chest and her arms around his neck. Amy was engulfed with his scent and touch, the sound of his heart beating pounded in her ears. Amy blushed at the way he was holding her, it really wasn't different from other times but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was enjoying this. When Sonic saw the town square he came to a crushing halt, Amy looked around from his arms yelling, "You jerk! You scared me!"

Sonic grinned and shrugged "I've carried you like that plenty of times."

"That was different."

"How?" He asked, putting his finger under her chin. Amy could feel herself sweating as his gaze paced over her. Determined not to give in to his game she slapped him away and walked passed. "Forget it, come on, the place is over here."

Sonic chuckled to himself, _this just might be a fun day_.

XXXXX

**Next up soon! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know, I know, let's just be happy that I'm working on it. Enjoy! P.s thanks to all the reviews on this story and my others!**

*******This is a re-edit version, only spelling errors and grammar changes****.***

The Good and The Evil

The restaurant was a lively chic place, perfect for couples and friendly meet-ups. Of course the place was packed full of couples holding hands, laughing and yes the usual flirting. But a part of restaurant's front patio was a bit too quiet. The couples at a nearby table knew it was rude to gawk, but it isn't every day one sees Sonic the hedgehog sitting in one place for long and with Amy Rose of all people. As amazing as that was it was, the two hadn't said one word to each other since they sat down. Or made any eye contact. They just kept staring at their menus as if they were good books. Could ordering food be that hard?

Amy was way too nervous to look anywhere but the menu. She didn't care what Sonic said, there was something different about the way he carried her, like he wanted her to be pressed closer to him. _NO, bad fan girl, bad, Sonic was probably in a hurry to get this over with. That's why he ran too fast, remember this is not a date, so no false hope._ Amy hated feeling this nervous and felt silly that she was using a menu of all things as her security blanket. _That is until the waiter comes to take it away_.

On the other side of the table, Sonic was trying to figure out what he was doing. Did lack of interest at her front door bother him that much? _No_, he was just having a little fun with her that's all. He felt silly about using an oversized book as his only defense and set it aside. Seeing that Amy still had hers up Sonic sighed and rested his head in his hands. She must still be mad at him for the stunt he pulled. _Oh, you think! _Still it was pretty funny the way she shrieked when he surprise her; she looks very cute when she's all huffy. Not many girls can look cute when they're mad, in fact the only time she didn't look cute was when she had her hammer out, then it was time to run. Sonic closed his eyes picturing the scenario again and unknowingly chuckled a little too loud.

Amy's ears twitched at the sound and she felt her heart pounding. _He must be laughing at me for hiding behind my menu, well I'm not going to let him win this. I'll show him that Amy Rose can handle it without freaking out. _Amy quietly took a big breath and closed her menu setting it aside.

Sonic's eyes opened and he watched her in slow motion. The way she lowered her eyes and turned her head to face him and how her graceful hands folded neatly on the table. Sonic swallowed the lump in his throat, not sure what to make of the calm look on her face. It would be a lie not to say that Amy looked…

"What where you chuckling about, Sonic?"

"What?" Sonic shook his head and mentally kicking the idea from of his mind, quickly try to gather his thoughts.

"Just now you were laughing about something, I just wanted to know what the joke was." Amy asked calmly.

"Oh, well," Sonic was just about to ride it off when a idea came. "I was just thinking how cute you are when you're mad."

Sonic watched as Amy's emerald eyes widened and looked away. He was telling the truth but he know it was a bit unfair to say it; testing her. Amy behaved herself , he just wanted to see if he could get a rise out of her. Amy didn't know what to think of it. She was happy, but it didn't feel right. The people from the other tables paused from their eating and talking to watch what Amy would say. Just then the waiter showed up, the people sighed and turned back to their own business.

"I am terribly sorry for the wait, are you ready for you orders?"

"Yes," Said Amy, grateful for the save. "I would like the alfredo pasta with an ice tea please."

"And you sir?"

"I'll have the same." Sonic said casually, shocking both the waiter and Amy. Every restaurant in town, no matter how fancy, made chili dogs just in case Sonic the Hedgehog stopped by for a quick bite. The waiter cleared his throat saying "Are you sure, sir? We do carry your favorite meal here."

Sonic smiled answering, "Thanks but I think I'll try something new."

"As you wish." the waiter hurried back to the kitchen to give a cooks a shock. Amy watched the waiter go then turned back to Sonic with a raised brow.

"What?" Asked Sonic, enjoying the confused look on her face.

"Okay, where is Sonic and what have you done to him?" Amy asked playfully.

Sonic smiled goofily saying "Can't a guy try something new for once?"

Amy turned to him and smiled sweetly, "I suppose so, maybe we should try swimming after this."

Sonic keened, "Ha, funny. But I said try something new _**once.**_"

Amy sat back in her chair giggling "Well, it was worth a shot. At least I know your not a dummy, well a complete one anyhow."

"Ouch," cried Sonic as he griped his chest, "that hurts. I guess that would be payback then for going too fast for you?"

Amy shrugged her shoulders "Maybe." The waiter walked back to their table and placed two bubbling Champaign glasses on the table.

"Compliments of the house, I will be back in a moment with your tea."

"Well," said Sonic as he reached for his glass, "here's to a beautiful friendship."

Amy smiled and raised her glass for the toast. It was not her first time drinking, Vanilla allowed it last New Year's, but she still didn't like the way it made her cheeks red with warmth.

Sonic had drank a few times and felt no real effect, it didn't even calm his nerves, he was already relaxed. The waiter came back with their food and drinks, wishing them a "bon appétit".

Twenty minutes later…

"No, really? You've got to be kidding, that's who you think has a better chance of taking over the world?" Amy cried, trying not to laugh. Sonic nodded and Amy giggled in her hand. "Hey laugh all you want but just you wait, pigeons are going end it all. I mean they're everywhere already, it's just a matter of time before they get organized." Sonic said in somewhat serious tone.

After a pause, they burst out laughing. Things couldn't be going better, Sonic never thought hanging with Amy could be so much fun. Sure they've spent time together but there was always someone around and it was more working together than just chilling.

Sonic wiped a tear from his eye and turned to Amy saying, "Okay, your turn. What do you think has a better chance of taking over the world then Egg Man?" "Cockroaches, duh." "Birds eat bugs." "Not if they don't survive a nuclear apocalypse." "Apparently you don't understand the evilness of pigeons." Amy laughed again and shook her head, "I can't believe we're talking about this." "Hey, you're the one that brought a very good question." Amy said nothing but smiled and took a sip from her glass.

"Is there anything I can get you?" asked their waiter. "No, thanks. I think we're good." Sonic replied. The waiter nodded saying "Then I wish you a good day and happy Valentine's Day."

Shocked, Sonic asked, "Wait, what about the check?"

"No need sir, a couple paid for it a while ago and wished to stay anonymous." The waiter replied happily. Amy and Sonic looked at each in surprise. _They must have thought that we were on a date,_ they both thought. Sonic turned back to the waiter saying, "Thanks, but is there something I could do. As much as I like a free meal, I still want to thank you for great service." The waiter lit up and said excitedly "Well I'm sure the owners would like an autograph, to hang on the wall." Sonic smiled and nodded saying "Sure, what do you say, Amy? I think it's a fair trade."

Being big fans, the owners already had pictures for both Amy and Sonic to sign. For good measure, Sonic went back to the kitchen to say hello to the cooks. Amy waited on the corner outside the restaurant get some privacy; she sighed happily. Things were going as smoothly as she hoped they would, she had even forgotten about being nervous. At this point Egg Man could attack the city and she wouldn't be mad. But there wasn't going to be any Egg Man and she still had half the day to spend with Sonic, what could possibly go wrong? Amy gasped and mentally kicked herself for thinking that, the last thing she wanted to do was jinx the rest of her day. "Looking good, Pinkie." _Damn._

Amy turned around to face the one person she hated more than Egg Man. "What do you want?" she asked rudely as she crossed her arms. "Come on baby, can't a guy compliment a good looking girl. Couldn't help but notice that my colors look good on you."

"Hmpf." Amy turned away from the green hedgehog and started to head back to the restaurant. Before she could take another step he was in front of her, grinning wickedly at her. "Oh come baby, let's play a little. Who are you all dressed up for, it's not blue boy is it?"

"That's not any of your business Scourge." Amy said angrily, ready to pull out her piko piko hammer if she needed. As much as she hated him she also feared him and with good reason. Egg Man was almost sane compared to this bad boy..., almost.

"Let me guess, he stood you up, right?" Scourge asked laughing.

"No, he did not. In fact he's inside so I suggest you get going before he sees you." Amy threatened. Scourge narrowed his eyes on her, making Amy very nervous.

He could tell that she wasn't lying. He smirked at her and mock clapping, "Bravo, and how did you manage that? Was it blackmail or did you slip something to him?"

"You're despicable." Amy spat. It happen way too fast, Amy shrieked but he covered her mouth before anyone could hear her. Her back was pressed up against a wall with Scourge pinning her right arm beside her head, their faces inches apart. "You better be careful little rose. Your thorns may prick but it doesn't take much to crush a flower." Amy was about to snap for her hammer when his hand moved away from her mouth and pinned her left hand to the wall.

"Scream and I will snap your neck." He growled before she had the chance to utter a sound. Amy closed her mouth and glared at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of fear. "Now what dirty little secret did you use to get Mr. Goody-goody to go out with you?" the green hedgehog asked in a low voice that almost made Amy shiver.

She turned away from his face and replied "We are not going out, we are just hanging out."

Confused at her words he said darkly "Say that again."

Amy groan and explained "We're just hanging out as friends. We are not dating." Scourge blinked a few times, then it clicked. Amy turned red as Scourge laughed in her face, he laughed so hard that he let go of her hands and stumbling back a bit.

"You've got to be kidding." He said in between fits of laughter, "You used that lame old excuse. Man I may be despicable, but you're just pathetic. What's even funnier is that you think old blue boy bought it." Amy growled in frustration and yelled "What are you talking about, what's so funny about me wanting to be friends with Sonic."

"Oh come on, that guy may not be as fast as me but I know he's smart enough to figure your little scheme out. I bet he just said yes to have a little fun with you."

That was it, Amy had had enough of this scum bag and snapped for her hammer as Scourge went on. "I got to hand it to him, that's real low. Maybe we aren't that different after all." Amy swung her hammer at him but he moved before it could touch him, taping her shoulder. She turned to swing again but he caught her hammer and pulled it out of her hand. The hammer disappeared as it hit the ground and Scourge caught Amy around her waist and pulled her close to him one last time.

"Don't get me wrong kid, you got spirit and you're real sweet on the eyes. But there is no way that a guy who has ignored you for five years is gonna turn around and 'hang out' without something in return. If you asked me, I think he's just looking for some easy pickings, if you get my drift."

Amy could feel tears in her eye and was wondering what could be taking Sonic so long. If she needed saving, now would be a very good time. Scourge smiled down at the young girl in his arms and even stroked her cheek saying softly, "I think I did my good deed for the day. If you're looking for a real good time give me a call." Before rushing off he kissed her cheek.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! One or two chapters to go! Sorry if something is not right and thank you to all those who commented on my last chapter. They are loved and needed. Enjoy! ^_^**

**What is this feeling?**

"Whew" Sonic sighed as he left the restaurant, "That took longer than I wanted it to." He spotted Amy at the corner and started to walk to her. "Hey Ames! Sorry about the wait. Amy?" She turned around smiling weakly at him as she pushed her pink bangs away from her face. Sonic felt that something was not quite right, Amy looked, well sad.

"Amy, are you okay?" He asked worried that he had upset her for taking too long.

"Of course silly." Amy said, trying to put some cheer in her voice. She hated lying to him, what she really wanted to do right now was to be alone. Just for a minute so she could pull herself together and maybe cry then re-pull herself together. She should have just told Sonic about the whole thing but she didn't for two reasons. One, Sonic would most likely go after the jerk and no way was she going to let that creep ruin her first and only day alone with Sonic. Two, what if Scrounge, dare she think it, was right. She didn't want to find out.

Amy looked across the street and had an idea. "Hey Sonic, why don't we go for a walk in that park over there. I've heard that there are a lot of good walking trails." Amy hoped that the walk would help straighten her mind out. Sonic looked over at the park then back at her and shrugged saying "Okay." Sonic just hoped that whatever was bothering Amy really was nothing.

The park was a decent size and had parts leading into a natural forest. Amy could feel herself relaxing once more as they walked in silence, looking at the tree as they passed by. Sonic was enjoying himself too, usually he would run passed all this, find a spot to nap and run back again without stopping to look around. Still, they had been walking for a while and neither of them had said a word. As great experience as this was the slowness and the quite was being to get to him. Amy had then stopped walking and was looking down at her feet, her hands balled up in a fits. "Sonic," Sonic looked at his friend with a seriousness face; he thought that Amy was going to finally tell him what was wrong with her.

Amy felt ridiculous for wanting to ask this question, but no amount of walking was going to make it go away. So she might as well get it out before it made her say or do anything she might regret. She turn to him quickly, "Why did you agree to meet with me today?" The seriousness was wiped away; he was surprise that she would ask this question. "I guess I thought that it would be fun. I mean we never tried just hanging out before." He answered honestly. Amy tried to see if she could read anything in his face and voice to see if it was a lie, as far as she could tell he was telling the truth. Sonic waited for her to ask something else or to at least say something. She looked like she was just about to start walking when she turned to him again and said "Thank you, by the way for agreeing to do this. I bet you had doubts about coming especially considering what today was."

"Yeah about that," he said as he grinned at her, "If you just wanted to hang out as friends why did you pick today?" Amy crossed her arms and huffed while a small tint of red come to her cheeks, "Just because today is Valentines' day it doesn't mean we can't go out just as friends Sonic."

"Okay, okay Amy. I just wanted to know why you didn't pick another day." Amy sighed, wishing she hadn't started this conversation.

"I pick today because it was the day after Egg Man's attacked and I knew that you would be here resting. You are usually always gone around this time of the year so I just jumped at the chance that you would say yes."

Amy looked at Sonic hoping that what she said wouldn't scare him off, but he just smiled at her nodded his saying, "Your right, I am usually already gone to…"

He stopped and looked at her as an idea clicked in his head. Amy raised her brow, not sure what to think about the look he was giving her. Before she could say something Sonic spoke very fast as he walked up to her. "Amy, I'm not sure if you have anything plan but I have a place that I want to take you to right now. It's pretty far away but we can make it if I go really, really, really fast." Amy nearly jumped as Sonic touched her shudders, "I've never gone that fast carrying you but I promise you will be alright and that you will like what I have to show you. But we will have to go now so that we can make it back in time." "Back in time for what?" Amy asked, trying really hard to breath. "I tell you later. So what do you say?" He asked with eagerness in his eyes. Amy nodded and before she knew it she was again swept away in the arms of the boy she loved.

XXX

He wasn't kidding. The speed that they were going at when they had left her house was slow compare to how fast they were going now. She didn't even understand how Sonic could even see at the speed he was running at. Her eyes were closed shut and her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck as her head rested against his beating heart .It was like floating in a dream, but unlike the dream she felt safe and warm. She could hear nothing but the rush of air as it swept pass them and the fast pace of his heart. She felt so calm and relaxed that she almost drifted into sleep. Truthfully they were not going as fast as Sonic would have liked but he was unsure if she would be able to handle it. His arms tighten around her, making Amy open her eyes wide enough for her to look up at Sonic face. She blushed as he pulled her closer to him, making it hard to breathe right. Her eyes sifted up as her blush deepen; she had seen that look before. It was the same look he made when he was determine to protect something dear to him. _He must be worry about the speed, _she thought as she closed her eye and gave into the sensation of sleep.

Sonic felt her body relaxed in his arms and quickly looked down at her to see if she was alright. He smiled, almost laughed at the fact that she fell asleep in his arms, it was the fastest he had gone with anyone in his arms and she fell asleep. But that was Amy for you, so full of faith that she trusted him to get her to where ever they were going safely. An unconformable fuzzy feeling flood his chest, he swallow hard so to push the feeling back to wherever it came from. He looked back up and saw the place where he was taking her and carefully started to slow down. He skidded to a stop leaving a small trail of dust be hide him. He looked around the small area they were in, Amy still napping in his arms, he smiled again to himself. They had made it in time; he looked down at Amy and debated whether he should awake her up. Again the feeling crept slowly back into chest along with another one that made it difficult for him to put her down. He didn't push it away this time; instead he did something that for whatever reason frighten him. He brought his face closer to her cheek and breathed in her scent. It was just as he suspected, it was sweet. He could smell the hint of lilac that she put on before he came and while he had always found it to be a pleasant smell it was Amy own scent that made him feel weak in the knees. But as he breath in again he caught another smell that was not familiar or pleasant. Sonic drew back as he frowned, wondering why it was on her. He again brought her in closer and smelled again. It was all over her even her…

Sonic found himself staring at Amy's soft pink lips and the feeling grew stronger. His heart was picking back up again as he licked his lips. Sonic the Hedgehog was no stranger to temptation, but stealing a kiss was a new one. He had kissed a lot of girls but never once had thought about kissing Amy. She was his friend and ally, someone that he protected because she was too…

Sonic lend in, bringing Amy's face closer to his, his lips hovering over hers. Sonic closed his eyes as his lips moved to the right, planting a kiss on her soft cheek.

XXXXX

Amy eyes blinked opened and sat up fast as she looked around to see where she was. A warm wind blew through the grassy field she was in, pushing her bangs in her eyes. She swiped her pink bangs back again as her hand rubbed against the cheek that her hero had kissed. Her hand stopped and before her mind could wonder a familiar voice spoke,

"How are you feeling sleeping beauty?" Amy snap her head around to find the blue bur laying not too far from her left. "Was I asleep for a long time?" she asked as he dropped her hand. "No." He replied lazily. "Is this where you wanted to take me?" Amy asked, sounding annoyed at Sonic's vagueness. "No, but we're close." He sat up and gave big stretched. "I decided to let you sleep some more since we made it early." He looked up at the sky for a moment as he stood up, then looked over to Amy saying, "Good timing Ames," he walked over to her and helped her up, "it's about to start." "What is?" "You'll see." She frowned at him, not sure if she like him being so secretive. But he smiled at her as he cupped her right cheek in his hand and whispered "Trust me Amy; you're going to like want I have to show you." Amy sighed nodding her head "Alright." Sonic took her left hand in his and lead the way back into the forest.

XXX

Amy looked around at the trees, they must be in a jungle, she thought as Sonic continued to lead her in deeper. They finally stopped at a large wall of rocks; Amy could hear the sound of waterfall nearby. Sonic let go of her hand and walked up to the stone fortress. He looked around it, than finding what he was looking for he put his hands of a slab of rock and pushed it away. He then turned back to Amy and offered is hand. She took it as Sonic said "Watch your step, it's a bit slippery." The cave was dim and smelled damp and as they walk forward the sound of the waterfall grew louder. "Are we near a waterfall Sonic?" "Yep, but that's not why I'm bringing you here." The light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter and brighter. Amy shielded her eyes as they walked back out into the sun light. The waterfall was to the right of them and in front was garden paradise of all kinds of flower and plants. The smell of the air was overwhelming sweet, Amy walked past Sonic, speechless by the beauty she was surrounded by. "I know what you're thinking, but this is still not why I brought you here." Sonic said to her, pleased that she liked it so much. "What do you mean Sonic, this place it so beautiful. What else is there?" Amy asked as she touched a purple flower that was hanging from the branches of a tree. Sonic just smiled and winked at her then started to walk around the tree, looking for something.

Amy was so tempted to pick the flowers but could find it in her heart to do it. She then spotted a bush of red roses and walked over to smell them and the feel their soft velvet petals. They were even sweeter than the ones she grew at home, Amy sighed with happiest. She had always dreamed that Sonic would bring her to a place like this and even if this wasn't a date it was perfect. She looked over at the trees, watching Sonic looking for whatever it was he was trying to find.

She was unsure what to make of his odd behavior, maybe it was just her imagination getting the best of her and that he wasn't being odd at all. _"..There is no way that a guy who has ignored you for five years is gonna turn around and 'hang out' without something in return. If you asked me, I think he just looking for some easy pickings." _Amy bit her lip as she turned away and moved away from the roses. She hated that that creep had to call her on her bluff, it's not like she was planning on Sonic to fall for her, and it was just a fantasy. And Sonic was not like that, he was not Scourge, she had seen how Sonic was with his girlfriends and he was never a sleaze like Scourge was. Amy folded arms, trying to comfort herself as she walked closer to the waterfall.

Sonic tapped his foot as he search the trees over and over again. His eyes happened to glance to where Amy was and he stopped. She looked sad again. He couldn't help but feel that it had to do with that odd smell on her. Amy stared down at the water, blocking the terrible image of Scourge kissing her, when she felt someone wrapped their arms around her. She shivered as Sonic whispered in her ear "Amy, please tell me what's bothering you." She closed her eyes and breathed in when out of nowhere a bird began singing. They both turned around and saw it sitting in the trees Sonic was looking at.

Amy had never seen a bird like this; she blinked a few times to see if it was really real or if it was some kind of trick. "What is it?" Say she breathlessly. Sonic smiled and led her closer to the tree and pulled her down next to him. The bird looked t them for a moment, then flapped it's wings, making the light reflect off of them. If it hadn't moved Amy would have thought that it was a statue made out of jewels. "They're called Emerald Birds." Sonic explained to Amy, "They're very rare but they all come here to nest, I found this place on one of my trips long ago. You and I are the only ones that know about this place." The bird was a stunning color of red and yellow, and when the sun hit it just right it shine like was made of emeralds. Soon all the trees became decorated with different color birds; some were like little gems, others where five times the size of a chaos emerald. But it was not just their beauty that made them fascinating but their song as well. "So you come here very year?" Amy asked quietly so not to interrupt the birds. "Yep. I like to make sure that they're all right and that one has mess with them and their nesting area. They're pretty used to me by now, but it's looks like they're putting on a show for you." Amy looked back at the birds and saw that they were all facing her as if they meant to sing directly to her. "How long do they stay here?" Sonic thought for a moment and said "About two weeks, they all just got here today from wherever they usually live to mate. The eggs come in two days and it takes six day to for them to hatch. The last three days are them getting their babies ready to leave." Amy eyes widen, "That's really fast." "Yeah, I think it's because they don't want to stay in a big group for too long." Amy nodded her head in understanding as she thought of Rouge and list of people who would want to make these birds their pets.

Sonic lay down in the soft grass with his hands supporting his head, as he listened to birds. Soon he had closed his eyes and drifted off into a little nap. Amy looked down at Sonic as he softly snored. She giggle and deiced to lie down next to him. She back at the trees as the birds started a new song that sound almost like a lullaby. She filled with so much happiest that Sonic had shared this with her. He was really being very sweet to her, how could she ever doubt him? Soon her own eyes closed as the jeweled birds continued singing.

The afternoon past them by slowly as the sun warmed their bodies. Sonic let out a big yawn and turned over to his side, his hand fell on something soft. He opened his eyes to see what it was when his forest green eyes widen as Amy's face was very close to his. He could feel himself blushing as the feeling came rushing back again and sat up fast to try to get rid of it. The birds had stopped their singing and were softly chirping in pairs all over the tree. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark; if they wanted to make it back to the festival in time they would need to leave soon.

Sonic looked down at the sleeping female hedgehog next to him. He would have preferred blue but her green dress really did bring out her color as well as the shape of her still growing body. The young hero reached out with his hand to touch her fur but drew back shaking his head and running his hands through his blue quills. He kept telling himself that he had to snap out of it, whatever is was he had to snap out of. Amy then made a small noise, he glance over his shoulder to see that she was still curled up and asleep. She then, unmistakably, said his name in her sleep. Sonic smiled cockily, she was still is number one fan and for whatever reason it was a relief to him. He moved closer to her, putting his hand over her shoulder to gently wake her up. Amy blink up at him and smiled. Sonic smiled back "Hey Ames, ready to go?"

"Sure." She replied softly. She sat up and smooth out her dress, Sonic saw a few bits of grass that had stuck to her quills.

He knew she could have done it herself but he wanted to keep touching her. Amy sat still as Sonic carefully ran his fingers through her quills; she could feel the heat returning to her face. When Sonic pick out the last bit of grass he saw the affect it had on his number one fan. If this had been normal Amy she would have freak out and hugged him to death and go on about marriage. But he wasn't dealing with normal Amy and watching her sitting still and blushing was messing with his emotions big time. He put his hands on her face and turned it so that he could see her better. The liner around her eyes exaggerated her already stunning shinning emerald eyes; the redness on her cheeks gave her a look of pure innocents. "Sonic?" she whispered, she felt butterflies in her chest and didn't know what else to do but stay still. Never in her wildness dream did she think that Sonic could ever look at her like that. Love? Lust? Desire? She couldn't figure it out what it was. Sonic then leaned in closer to her face, Amy felt like she was about to have a heart attack. He was going to kiss her! Here? Now? Their lips were inches away when Amy turned her head away. Amy gasped, not believing she chickened out, but she just wasn't ready or prepare for this to happen. "Sorry." Was all she said, Sonic tried to not look or sound disappointed and said, "No need." He watch as Amy got up and made her way to the exited. He frowned as he scolded himself for being an idiot and got up to go after her.

XXXX

They stayed silent as Sonic close the secret path to where the emerald birds were and turn to sweep Amy back into his arms. "Wait." Amy said as she put her hand up to stop Sonic from coming closer. She cleared her voice, hoping she didn't sound nervous and asked "Where are we going now?"

"To the festival of course."

She had to think for a minute before she understood what he meant. "The festival? You mean the festival of hearts?" Sonic nodded saying "That's the one. Tails said that you go every year, why should this year be any different?" Amy shook her head saying, "No, we don't have to Sonic really." Sonic smiled and touched her face again saying gently "Hey it just a festival, plus we could garb something to eat there. Like you said _'just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean we can hang out.'_ And I've never been to it, what do you say?" Amy looked into his green eyes, and sighed. She didn't want to chicken out again and she did always wanted to go with him. She nodded to him saying "Okay." Sonic smiled triumphantly at her and scoped her back into his arms and took off once more.

**XXXX**

**I hope it wasn't too cheesy or overly fluffy. We'll see what happens next! Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay first I have to thank ****Aamypink, Hazel The Rabbit, HBee16, kunfupandalover, soniclover123, hotpink, and Anonymous for great encouragement. And a special thanks to plainpain for sound advice for making my story much more readable. Critiques are welcome if constructive (but it will take a while is its grammar. :} )**

**Oh and one more thing, continuity is a grand thing, but sucks a$$ if you mess up. In chapter two, I said Amy was fourteen, let us change that to fifteen. You'll see why later. Oh and for those questioning, Sonic is seventeen. **

**But hey this is a Sonic story so continuity got nothing to do with it. **

**HA!**

**Anyone?**

**No?**

**Fine! Here it is the next chapter. YAY! (Warning: Long!)**

**The Festival of Hearts**

The festival of hearts took place about an hour outside the loud and crowded city of Station Square. From far, it looked like it was just like any other festival, the lights, color and music. However once you walked through the cheery yellow tent, that was the main gate, you were quickly reminded what day it was celebrating. All the booths and tents were decorated with shades of red, pink, purple and gold fabrics. Lines of red heart shaped lanterns were hung high from wooden posts as small bulbs lights were stringed across from booth to booth.

There were all kinds of games where winners could get stuffed toys, single roses, or candy. Fortune tellers, body art, shopping and of course plenty of good food and rides. At the end of the festival everyone would move to the big field just outside the fair where the firework show took place and couples would snuggle up together and watch.

It was another dream come true for Amy Rose as they walked into the yellow tent. She had always wanted to come to festival with Sonic ever since she found out about it and had been coming with Tails and Cream. The best part was that since she been to this festival so many times she knew the lay out and where all the best places were. This came in handy when they set out to get something to eat. Sonic almost made a bee line for the first chilidog stand he saw, Amy stopped him time with the promise of better tasting food.

Sonic pouted as he followed beside Amy through the crowd, "Are we almost there?"

"Yes o impatient one." Amy said mockingly.

Sonic sighed and crossed his hands over the back of his head. "I can't see why you stopped me; I mean the sign even said 'Good for U Dogs'."

"Yeah, because they are made from tofu, even the chili."

Amy laughed when she saw the look of horror on Sonic's face. "That is just…evil." He shuttered. "Thanks for the save Ames."

"Any time Sonic."

"Are we there yet?"the hero whined again.

Amy sighed, and then spotted the booth she was taking her fearless hero to. She made the mistake of pointing it out to calm him down. _'He must be suffering from chilidog withdrawal.'_ She though asSonic took off in a flash and came back with a chilidog in each hand. Amy put her hands on her hip and said sarcastically "Wow, only two. I didn't think you knew what self control was."

Sonic grinned happily saying "I don't, apparently my name is well known in the chilidog world. I have a two dog per visit limit everywhere I go."

He then started on one as Amy mockingly said, "The nerve of some people."

"Yeah," said he said in between chews, "You would think they would let me have the number I want, seeing as I could die saving the world at any moment."

"They must like staying in business too much." Amy replied as she grab a napkin from his hand and wipe away some chili from his cheek. Sonic swallowed feeling a little embarrass about eating like this in front of Amy.

"Thanks Ames." He said sheepishly. Amy just smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "Sure."

What could she say other than that was Sonic for you. Chilidogs were his favorite thing and nothing would change that, well expect for tofu. Sonic was about to start on his second when he stopped.

"Hey Amy aren't you going to eat something too?"

"Yeah, the booth I want is up ahead." Amy said as she walked passed him. Sonic quickly finished his meal and ran to catch up with Amy. Amy's favorite thing to eat at this festival was the takoyaki, (fired octopus in a light bather with an oyster sauce) and this booth was the best. As she was about to pay the women behind the counter when Sonic stopped her. "Sorry, ma'am, but her money is no good here."

Amy's face flushed as she watched Sonic pay for her meal and got the heck out of dodge before Amy could stop him. The women smiled at Amy saying "What a nice boyfriend you have."

"Oh, no, we're just friends." Amy replied, feeling silly about the whole thing.

"Right." The women winked at her.

Amy walked away and angrily looked for the blue devil. Just what was he playing at; he had been acting weird on and off all day. First it when leaving the house, then at lunch and again at the secret nesting area, when he had tried to kiss her. Amy griped her chest and breathed out slowly, the image of him moving so close to her was enough to make her heart explode. "Are you okay?"

Amy turned her head to see Sonic smiling playfully at her. She straightened up and nodded. She then turned to him and put her finger on his chest as she scolded him.

"Listen Sonic, I am very capable of paying for my own things."

"True, but not tonight you are." He replied as he folded his arms and turned away grinning.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Amy cried as she put one of her hands on her hip.

"What I mean, my dear Amy, is that tonight is on me."

Amy went blank for a moment than shook her head violently. "Uh-uh, no, no way. Since when do friends pay for everything?"

"Since you lost your purse." Sonic was so close to bursting out laughing when he saw the look on Amy's face. Her purse, she could have swore she had it.

The festival was free to the public so she didn't have to pay to get in, they didn't pay for lunch, so when was the last time she had it? Then it dawn on her, she glared at Sonic, who just kept smiling his playful smile. "Sonic, where is my purse?" Amy asked slowly.

"I believe its back at the nesting area in the grass where you left it. And no I can't go get it because it will disturb the birds mating ritual." Sonic explain before Amy could tell him to go get it. Amy couldn't believe it, but it came back to her. She walked away from the almost kiss and forgot to grab her stupid purse. Sonic smiled at her like he won some big prize or something.

"Fine." Amy muttered. "But I will pay you back."

Sonic hold up his hand saying, "Now, now, I'm not going to have you get a huge debt over your head. So you can pay me back now."

"And how am I going to that?" Amy asked

"Why with a friendly kiss of course."

"I'm sorry, what was that again?"

"On the cheek, not lips. Don't want the cross the line right."

Amy could not believe she was hearing this, she even began to blush at the idea that Sonic was trying to get kisses from her. Fine, if this was the game he wanted to play, she'll play it and win! She looked him straight in the eyes and asked smoothly "Okay, but what else would constitute a kiss?"

Sonic swallowed, not sure if he liked the look she was giving him. He didn't even know what had gotten in to him either. Old Sonic was just screaming about how bad this idea was but the new Sonic just causally nodded his head and promised that this would be fun. It was the cliché angle and demon bit, way too cliché for Sonic taste. And before he could take the side of the angle and walk away; the devil in him spoke "How about we do this, a huge for every ride and a kiss for every game I win."

"What about food?"

"Mph," Sonic said as he waved it off "It'll be on me. Besides, I think I own you big time for standing you up for so long." Amy was taken back. She never thought he even cared or remember about all the other times they had schedule something together that never happen because one thing or another. He really was the sweatiest guy she had ever known, even if he was acting nuts.

Amy nodded her head, "Okay, it's a deal."

Sonic looked away and rubbed his nose. He didn't think she would take it so well, since she was the one who was determined for this not to be a date. _'Okay smart guy, how was this going to fun again? I just gave my most crazy fan girl a reason to be all over me!" _Amy looked at him curiously, when her own little devil had an idea.

"So I take it that it starts now." Amy said as she walked closer to the blue hedgehog, tuning him around as she put one of her hands his chest.

Sonic stiffen as Amy leaned in, her pink glossy lips close to his. Sonic wrapped him left arm around her as Amy kissed the very corner of his mouth, barely touching his lips. He had to fight the urge to move his head so that he could catch her lips in his before she pulled away. The feeling was so strange; he could feel little shivers that flowed from where she was kissing him to places that were a little new to him. It took a lot not for him not to just get it over with and kiss her or moan.

Amy pulled back and looked up at him; a small tint glowed sweetly on her cheeks. "Is that how you want it?"

Sonic stared down at her with wide eyes. Amy didn't even bat and eye and just looked up at him innocently. Sonic finally cleared his throat "Yeah, I think that will work."

Amy smiled brightly and pushed away playful from him and started to walk ahead. Sonic shook his head and ran after her as the devil in is head said _'See, wasn't that fun.' _

XXX

Amy chewed happily on her takoyaki as they walked. She was walking off the little high she had gotten from kissing Sonic like that. Sonic catch up to her and started to walk with her. He looked down at the little spongy looking balls cover in a dark sauce. "What are you eating?"

"Oh, takoyaki." Amy used her little toothpick to garb the last one and held it up to Sonic. "Would you like to try one?"

"No thanks. I'm sticking to my chilidogs tonight."

"You're lost." Amy said as she popped it into her mouth and then throwing her trash away. Sonic saw that a bit of the dark sauce had gotten on her cheek and pointed it out. Amy stooped walking and blushed "I already threw the napkins away."

"Don't worry I got it."

"What do you mea-...?"

Amy's eyes widen as Sonic put his fingers under her chin and turn her head so that he could see the stain better. His other arm slide around her to pull her close to him. And before Amy could ask what he was up to, she felt his mouth on her cheek. She held her breath to keep from making any noise, as she felt his warm tongue lick away the salty sauce. '_Alright devil me, got any more great ideas!'_ Sonic yelled at himself, wishing he could find a way to stop himself from doing anything else he might regret. _'Just one more.' _It answered. And just like she had done to him, Sonic move his lips and planted a small kiss in the corner of her mouth. _'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god' _was running in Amy's head like crazy.

Amy could feel herself melting into him arms; Sonic moved behind her a bit to make sure she didn't fall backwards. _'He kissed me, he just kissed me! I know that I just kissed him but he is kissing me! Sonic the hedgehog just kiss me on cheek!' _The arm he had around her slide down her own and their hands took hold of each other.

Sonic didn't want to stop and really wanted to go on but the strange smell was still there, making him feel strangely possessive. Sonic pulled away from the kiss and rubbed his cheek against hers as if to remove it with and replace it with his own scent. Amy closed her eyes and gave in to the warmth of his body, her heart beating at the same pace as his. Her free hand reach up to rest on the other side of his face, closing whatever space was left between them. Sonic never felt so relax before, he was always comfortable around Amy when she wasn't being her normal crazy self, but this was different. For a moment they were lost in each other's touch, forgetting about the silly 'not a date' thing, forgetting that they were standing in the middle of a festival, where anyone could see them.

"Well, I must admit, I wasn't expecting to see this anytime soon."

Both Sonic's and Amy's eye flew open and they quickly separated from each other. "Please don't stop on my account. I never really thought about it but you two really do look like a really lovely couple."

Amy frowned at the white bat and softly asked Sonic, "Is the stain gone?" Sonic nodded as he to face Rouge's laughing crystal blue eyes. "How's it going Rouge?"

Rouge was not in her usual spy wear but in a strapless short red dress that hug her body and black pumps. In her arms she held a cute white stuff bunny with a pink bow on in it. "Nice plushy." Sonic commented, hoping to distract the jewel thief from making any more remarks on what she just saw. Fortunately Amy also looked at the cute toy and squealed with delight. "Oh he his cute! Where did you get it Rouge?"

"Knuckie won it for me! I just couldn't resist." Rouge cried happily as she held it out for Amy to see.

"So where is the hot head?" Sonic asked with a huge smirk on his face.

"Oh, well I think he's back at the game booths. After he won this prize I felt thirsty and left to get a quick drink. That's when I bump into yo-"

"Rouge! There you are!" cried an angry red echidna, the two hedgehogs noticed that he was carrying a small brown sack over his shoulder. "I was looking all over for you!"

"I got thirsty and bumped into these too." Rouge explained as she pointed to Sonic and Amy. Knuckle set the bulk down and grinned at Sonic. "I see that you finally gave in, huh."

Knuckles then gave Amy the once over and said to her, "Wow, I don't blame the idiot for giving in, you look wonderful."

"I agree that color is quite lovely on you." Rouge nodded in approval.

"Thanks Knuckles. Thanks Rouge." Amy said shyly.

Sonic frowned at Knuckles and asked as his folded his arms, "Hey knucklehead, shouldn't be you guarding the master emerald?"

"Shadows looking after it for me. He owned Rouge a favor." The guardian explained. Rouge just smiled as she hugged her toy close to her.

"What about you? Shouldn't you be fighting Eggman, he usually spoils whatever plans you two make."

"Fought him yesterday, he's at home licking his wounds." Knuckles and Rouge looked at each other and nodded. Knuckles than turned back to Sonic grinning

"Well I guess Rouge and I should let you two to go back on your date."

"_It's not a date!" _

Rouge and Knuckles looked at the two panting hedgehog questionably. Amy and Sonic realized that they both shouted and looked at each other for a moment. Amy felt a little hurt that Sonic had said that out loud and wonder if what had happen really meant anything to him. Sonic tightened his hand into a fist. He felt so stupid for saying it. Date or no date, he knew Amy feelings would get hurt, especial after the stunt he just pulled.

"Well, if it's not a date, then why are you guys here?" Knuckles asked.

'_Here we go.' _Thought Amy miserably. "We're just hanging out, as friends."

"Till we meet up with Tails and Cream later." Sonic added. Rouge could see from the looked that Amy gave him that that bit was news to her. Knuckles was inches away from laughing but held it in to ask his next question. "Aren't they a little young to be dating?"

"Tails is fourteen." Sonic said defensively.

"Cream's thirteen but that's why we're here. Vanilla would only okay it if Sonic and I were around to keep an eye on them." Amy played along, the Tails and Cream thing was new to her but if it kept another person from laughing at her, it was worth it.

"Seemed to me that you two had your eyes on other things." Rouge commented smartly.

"So Knuxs, what's in the bag?" Sonic asked, hoping it would get the attention off of them before Knuckles asked Rouge what she meant.

"Take a look for yourself; just try not to get too jealous." The proud guardian opened his bag to reveal a bunch of stuff toys and prizes he had won at the game booths. Amy step forward to get a better look. "Wow, you won all of this?"

"Yep." Knuckles said proudly as he reached into the bag. He pulled out a brown cowboy hat with stars on it and put it on his head. "This one is my favorite. What do you think, pretty cool huh?"

Amy giggled as Rouge rolled her eyes and smirk at him. "I wanted the cute little jewelry box, but I figure I might as well let him have his fun."

"I think it looks good on you." Amy said brightly.

"I'll admit it not a bad look for you and that is an impressive haul there, but I think I could do better." Sonic smirked seeing his friend buying the challenge. "Oh yeah, well see you prove it."

"Hey Amy, let's get something to drink while the boy play 'who the better man'. I'm still thirsty." Rouge said as she garbed Amy's hand to lead her way.

Sonic quickly turned around and slipped some money into Amy's hand. Rouge raised her eyebrow at Sonic action and he quickly explained that Amy had misplaced her purse. "My, aren't you just the most caring friend. Amy is sure lucky to have you."

"Come on Sonic, let's see you put your money were your mouth is." Knuckles said impatiently. Sonic turned and walked off with Knuckles as Rouge lead Amy way.

XXX

"So I see that you took my advice and it seems to be working fabulously for you." Rouge teased Amy as she took a sip of her cherry lemonade.

Amy blushed as she drank her own strawberry lemonade. Two weeks ago Rouge had saw Amy mopping at the park. Tried at seeing the same cycles of 'whys and poor me', the white bat decided to lend a helping hand. She had even help pick out the dress, but left it up to Amy to accessorize it herself.

"Rouge?"

"Hmm?"

"You've been with penalty of guys, right." Amy asked as she played with her straw. Rouge nearly choked on her drink and blushed as she laughed. "I wouldn't put it that way, but yes I have. Why do you ask?"

Amy really didn't want to bring it up but with Sonic acting off and kissing her, she had to find out what Rouge thought. "If a guy, who usually ignored a girl, were to going out her suddenly, is he doing it to get something from her?"

"AMY!" Rouge cried, nearly spilling her drink. "What do you mean by 'get something'? Where did you get that idea? Is Sonic pressuring you into something?"

"NO! Of course not!" Amy shouted back, regretting that she asked. Rouge then garb Amy's hand and pulled her over to the side so not to block the path and to figure out what the heck Amy was talking about.

"Where did you get an idea like that?" Rouge asked as she let go of Amy's hand.

"I…um..."

Rouge stared at the young pink girl as a list of culprits went through her head. Who would put such a sleazy idea in the poor girl's head? It was trick question because it all depended on the guy and she would have never suggested the idea is Sonic was that kind of guy. Then it hit her.

"It was Scourge wasn't it."

Amy bit her bottom lips as the horrible images came back, her eyes swelling with tears. Rouge sighed and gave the innocent girl a warm hug. Amy was a little taken back but appreciated it. Rouge and Amy weren't really that close, but it was nice to tell someone about what happen to her.

"Amy, how could you think for one minute think that Sonic would think any think like Scourge?" Rouge asked smoothly as she pulled away.

"I know and I know that Sonic would never do anything like that, but he...just ..." Amy took a big breath and said quickly. "Sonic has been acting strange all day."

Rouge raised her brow. "Strange how?"

Amy opened her mouth then shut it, not sure how or what to say.

"Did he kiss you?" Rouge asked playfully.

"Well no, I mean yes. He kissed me on the cheek, but earlier today he tried to kiss me kiss." Amy replied, blushing madly.

"Really, what happened?" The white bat asked as she took another sip of her lemonade.

"I got sacred and turned away." Amy lowered her head feeling like a big fool. Rouge was right, so much for not letting the big scum bag ruin her 'not a date' date. Rouge sighed again and lifted Amy's head up.

"Look sweetie, you have nothing to worry about. One, Sonic would never force anyone into anything they don't want to do. Two, I would never have suggested the idea if I knew Sonic was dirt, which his not. And three, Sonic has always liked you and I mean more than friends here."

"What?"

"Come on Amy, think about it. Sonic may have had other girlfriends but they all come and gone like a bad memory. You on the other hand have always been around; it really was only a matter a time before he got a little curious about the pretty little flower that is always around him."

Amy felt that she couldn't blush any harder. Rouge, thinking that she had said enough started to walk way. Amy really didn't know what to think now; it was just too good to be true. She then did something that she wanted to do all day since Sonic and her been together. She let out her joy. She didn't care who heard her or saw her, she jumped up and down she squealed and shouted out "Yes!"

Rouge chuckled warmly and called out to Amy, "Come on Amy, let's catch up with the boys. The night is still young."

Amy turned around with a huge smile on her face and wiping the tears of joy out of her eyes, ran after Rouge.

XXX

At the game booths, a certain blue hedgehog was having a sneezing fit. "Hey, that better not be contagious." Knuckles shouted at Sonic, annoyed that the sneezing threw off his aim.

"I don't think you got to worry, knucklehead." Sonic said wiping his nose and grinning as he stepped away.

"You're not her type." He said lowly as he gazed up at the dark sky.

XXX

A dark figure lend against one of the booths, staring out at the crowd. He twirled a sucker in his mouth as he tried to think of some way to deal with his boredom. There had to be someone he could play with, but someone not too easy or it would take all the fun out of it. She would have to be a looker, not too young and definitely not too old. SHe had to be just…

He saw her walking closer to where he was and hid bit in the shadows. He hadn't expected to see her so soon and with a friend. His body shivered as he heard her bell like laugh ring through the air like music. He watched as she passed by him, he smirked and gave a low whistle. Amy stopped and turned around fast and search to see where it had come from.

"Amy what's up?" Rouge asked, putting one hand on her hip.

"Did hear that?"

"What?"

"A whistle, someone whistled at us." Amy explained as she continued searching the crowed.

"Not that I would blame the poor sap, I didn't hear anything. And there's no way my ears could miss it. Come on Amy, I bet Sonic and knuckle has already won tons of stuff for us." Amy turned around and nodded her head, hoping that Rouge was right.

He didn't know why Rouge's comment about Sonic ticked him off, but it did. So pinkie really was telling the truth, old blue had taken the bait. The green hedgehog breathed in and out to get a hold of his senses when an idea came to him.

He was looking for a good time and it looked like he just found it. His sharp teeth clamped down on the hard candy, smashing it to bits.

"She's just right." He snickered as he trailed behind the young prey.

**XXX **

**LE GASP! What will happen next! I sure as heck don't know, but I shall sleep on it. **

**Okay that's not true, I have plenty of ideas, it's just a matter of writing it down. Tell what you think, I'm dying to know! And again thanks for reading. XD **


	8. Chapter 8

**YAY! ****ARCHEOPTERYX is back! Thank you for Editing and smoothing out my thoughts! And Thank you to all the lonely people who not only read my story but commented on my last chapter. Feedback is always a good thing! And it was really fun to chat with some of you and to hear your true thoughts and ideas. **

**Also since a few of you convinced me to get a beta reader I asked ARCHEOPTERYX to edited my past chapters as well. So do not freak if you start seeing replacement chapters after I upload this new one, there is nothing new. It will just be more readable. They will also not be replace in any order since he/she did not edit in order. Oops, my bad. And so thank you **kunfupandalover,Phoenix-LOL, h.p123, 4everLucky18, XD ultimateCCC XD, FatPizzaPie , mszapata13, Echo the Fox **(Yea, LE GASP!),** Simonette 4eva, HBee16, Supersaiyaninfinitygohan, Guest, Hazel The Rabbit, clovespice0160, and Ana. **If I miss anyone, THANK YOU!**

**And now let the story continue! **

**Not Telling**

'_Okay, you can do this. All you have to do is concentrate. Man up! You are Sonic the hedgehog, the greatest, fastest, not to mention, coolest thing alive. But seriously, concentrate! You can knock down a couple of cans and win this stupid rigged game-'_

"OH FOR CHOAS SAKE! JUST THROW THE BALL ALREADY!"

Sonic blinked over at the fuming red echidna behind him. The young man behind the counter sighed, as he rested his head in his hand. He too was wishing that Sonic would just hurry up, win the game and leave. These two were at this game for ten minutes seeing who could knock down the most cans. Even he was wishing the game wasn't rigged.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, can't a guy mediate." Sonic then pinched the small red ball at his target. The sound it made was pure music to his ears as all six cans fell onto the floor. The man rang the bell to announce the new winner. "Oh yeah!" Sonic cried triumphantly as he punched the air. "That makes it ten to ten. Still a tie Knuxs"

"That was a lucky shot. Best out of twenty!", Knuckles shouted.

"Whoa, wait I…um…break! Yeah! Going on break, sorry come back later." Said the Young Game tender as he tried to quickly close down his booth.

"Hold up!" Sonic cried "What about my prize?"

"Take anything you want! And please just go!" The man begged. Sonic scanned all the prizes in the booth till his eye's feel on the perfect one.

"That one down there."

The man threw Sonic his prize and rolled down the shutters. Knuckles and Sonic just looked at each other and shrugged. Sonic then place his new prize in his brown sack along with the other things he had won. "So, is that all the game booths?" he asked as he swung it over his shoulder.

"Are you kidding? That's not even half. I haven't even seen that side." Knuckles pointed out.

Sonic sighed, they had already played twenty two different games and they were still tied. A lot of the game tenders would let them play, but they denied them anymore prizes. At this point was just to see who could win the most games, the prizes would just mean more stuff to carry. This little war they were having was becoming old news to Sonic. So he decided to change the direction of the Guardian's mind.

"I wonder where the girls could have gone to? They should have been back by now." Sonic commented casually.

"Good point. Well I don't know about you but I'm done with the games." Knuckles said as he picked up his bag.

"Yeah, me too." Sonic replied, thinking that it had been too easy to convince him, regardless, he started walking.

"So whose idea was it for you and Amy to 'hang out' today?" Knuckles asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"What, you don't believe what Amy told you?" Sonic replied

"Nope and neither did Rouge. Tails and Cream are very stable kids for their age, plus I don't think you would be much help keeping an eye on them or anything for that matter."

"Wow, I'm impressed. You put a lot of thought in to this and your head didn't even explode." Sonic taunted sarcastically.

Knuckles gritted his teeth a bit but tried very hard to keep his friendly demeanor up. Sonic was using the oldest trick in the book to get Knuckles to drop the subject, making him mad. A cheap trick yes, but one that almost never fails. It was too bad for Sonic; there was no way Knuckles was going to let him off that easy. The blue hedgehog had been running from the pink fan girl forever. There had to be a better reason then babysitting a fourteen-year-old genius and a capable thirteen-year-old girl.

"I'm goanna guess it was Amy, actually I am betting it was Amy." The red guardian probed as he tried to keep his rage in check.

"Gee, I thought Tails was the only genius in the group." Sonic rolled his eyes, acting completely disinterested in the conversation. For a moment he thought it was working until he felt a hard punch on his left arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sonic yelled.

"Just tell me why you agreed or I'll beat it out of you!" Knuckles yelled back as he put his fist up in the air.

"Alright you numb-skull, jeeze, I'm sure glad Rouge is the spy and not you." Knuckles growled with frustration as he swung another punch at the blue speedster. Sonic dodged it easily and cried, "Fine, if you want to know so bad, I'll tell you. I wanted to make up for all the other dates and meet-ups that I couldn't make it to for one reason or another. So I thought that this would be my chance to make it up to her without her being, all love crazy! But I had no idea today was Valentine's Day, that was just a fluke."

Knuckles stared at Sonic for a good long while, trying to see if that was really all he had to say. Sonic just stared back but once again the boredom started to set in. Finally Knuckles dropped his fist and relaxed as he folded his arms across his chest.

"It was about time you realize that you owe her big time, especially since she always manages to get dragged into to whatever mess you are in at the time. Just do yourself and Amy a favor and don't get too carried away with this whole 'just a friend thing." Knuckles advised as he picked up his bag again and started walking.

"Come on Knuckles, what are you talking about? Amy's is my friend." Sonic said as he followed.

"Whatever you say Sonic. Just remember that if you mess up big time, you will have your butt handed to you."

"Gee thanks. With friends like you, who needs Eggman." The blue blur replied as he rolled his eyes.

He knew that Knuckles was just looking out for Amy like everyone else. But it bothered him that Knuckles would even imply that he, Sonic the hedgehog, would even think of mistreating Amy. _'Maybe it's not much as mistreating but misleading her that he is worried about.' _The more familiar side of him spoke with serenity. Sonic frowned to himself thinking that while it was true, it didn't sound quite right. Surprisingly, it was the other side that completed the idea. _' You are misleading yourself, you can only deny yourself for so long.' _

"Alright that's enough! This is way too cliché, so stop!" Sonic yelled out loud to keep his mind from talking anymore. People moved a few steps away from the crazy blue hedgehog. Knuckles was about to ask what the hell had gotten in to him, when he spotted someone at one of the booths...

XXX

"Rouge," Amy said as she and the G.U.N spy neared the game booths, "please do me a favor and don't tell Sonic anything about Scourge."

The white bat snapped her head around so fast that it looked like it would have hurt. "Amy are you crazy! You didn't tell Sonic anything about what that creep did to you?"

"No," Amy replied trying not to look at Rouge, "I would have told him, but then he would have gone after Scourge."

"And beat him to a pulp!"

"And leave me standing there, just like he does with Eggman." Amy explained bitterly.

"Amy, Sonic is a hero. Saving the world is what he does." Rouge reasoned with the young girl.

"I know that and I'm fine with that. I love Sonic for everything he is, but sending him after Scourge is something that Scourge would have wanted."

"And you having doubts about Sonic's moral code isn't"

Rouge stopped walking and put her forehead in her hand. She did understand what Amy was talking about but Scourge was really dangerous and unpredictable. He was everything Sonic was except for personality, which was the definition of deranged. Amy was lucky to get away from with just a kiss on the cheek.

"Amy, I really don't think that it's a good idea. I mean what if he decides to come back for you?" Amy could hear the plea in Rouge's voice and Rouge pleading was not a common thing. Amy was about to give in but then a thought hit her.

"Rouge, I don't think that will happen. Why would he even bother with me?"

"Because you are close to Sonic!" Rouge nearly yelled at her. Amy sighed, knowing when she had lost and nodded her head. "Fine I'll tell him, but after the fireworks."

Before Rouge could argue again Amy held up her hand and said, "Look Sonic is going to be with me the rest of the night so no harm can come to me. If I tell him when the night is over he may be little upset about it but I know he will understand. I have waited too long for this night and I am not going to let some sick, cheap, knock off ruin it for me."

The older friend opened and closed her mouth. It was always a treat for Rouge to see this side of Amy but it also was a pain. And just like Amy knew when she was hitting a brick wall, Rouge could see that the foolish fan girl had made up her mind.

"Okay, fine." Rouge said as she breathed in heavily. "But you stick like glue to Sonic all night."

"That was never a problem for me." Amy joked.

"I'm serious Amy, don't go away alone."

"And if I need to use the lady's room?"

"Have him wait outside for you. I meant it, or I will tell him." Rouge threaten.

"Okay, okay. I will." Amy said as she crossed her heart. Rouge felt a little better, but not much. That last thing she wanted was to see this girl get hurt or worse. The two started walking again to the game area as they talked about more pleasant things.

A few feet behind them a green hedgehog leaned against a post, wiping his shades as he watched the two girls argue. The noise of the crowd and music was too loud for Scourge to hear what they were talking about so adamantly. Whatever their topic of discussion he knew that it had to do with him. The usually cool white bat was too distressed about something. Not to mention that the Mobian hero never did come after him. So the girl must not have told Sonic anything.

Too bad, he was really hoping to get a chance to mess with old blue. Still messing with his pretty little fan girl will be a lot more fun. Getting her away from Sonic and her friends would be a challenge, but that was all part the fun. If he was lucky she would do it for him. As the pair walked into the game area Scourge pushed off the post. Placing the sun glasses back on his head, as he carefully followed after them.

XXX

'Ding, Ding!'

"And we have a winner!" Shouted a middle aged man with thick black hair and mustache as he rang his bell. He then turned to the glowing rabbit as she stood next to a two tailed fox.

"Young lady, you may pick any prize you want." He said as he smiled warmly at her. She gasped as her eyes shined and gazed over all the cute toys in the stand.

"I would like that one please." The pretty rabbit said as she pointed to a fluffy pink cat with a red bow around its neck and a little heart shaped nose. The man nodded and turned to get her the toy. The boy she was with smiled proudly as he set down the bb gun he used to win the game.

"Hey Tails!"

The orange fox turned around to see Knuckles walking his way. Tails smiled and waved at him as the man tipped his yellow hat to Cream.

"Hey Knuckles I didn't know you were here?" Tails said to the treasure hunter.

"Yeah, Rouge managed to drag me down here and put Shadow on emerald duty." Knuckled smirked.

"Oh, I like your hat Knuckles." Cream comment as she walked next to Tails.

"Thanks Cream, nice cat. Did Tails just win it for you?" He asked as he grinned at the blushing fox.

"He sure did." Cream said proudly, making Tails blush more as he shuffled his feet. Cream blinked as her eyes spotted another friend walking towards them.

"Hi Sonic." Cream cried cheerily, making Tails turn to say "hi" as well. When Tails saw him alone his smile dropped and was replace with a frown.

"Hey guys. You look very nice Cream." Sonic said as he stopped next to Knuckles.

"Thank you Sonic, where is Amy?"

"Yeah Sonic. Where is Amy?" Tails asked as he put in emphasis in his voice. _'You better not have left her behind somewhere. I'll never hear the end of it if you messed up!'_ Sonic stepped back as he smiled nervously. This was one of those rare incidences when Tails could actually intimidate Sonic with just a stare. Sonic could even read what he was thinking.

"She's off with Rouge getting something to drink. Sonic and I just finished playing some games." Knuckles explained as Sonic coughed to tried and get himself together.

"Sonic are you okay?" Cream asked worriedly.

"Fine Cream." Sonic replied as his confidence came flooding back and Tails face relaxed, liked nothing happened.

"So Sonic, how has your date with Amy going?" Tails asked, relieved that he didn't bail out on her.

"It's not a date Tails. But for your information this day has been surprisingly fun." Sonic paused, not really sure what else to say. Cream gasped happily and could not wait to see Amy later and talk about it with her.

"How about you guys? Tails been treating you good right, Cream?" Sonic teased as he ruffled the fur on the top on Tails' head.

"Of course, we've been here nearly all day. We just started playing some of the games to try and kill time until the fireworks start." Cream sweetly said, not really noting Sonic's teasing. Tails smiled at Cream then he noticed the bags that his friends were carrying on their backs.

"What's with the bags?" Tails pointed.

"Prizes." The two plainly stated. Tails laughed as Cream's eyes widened. Tails shook his head as he slipped off his backpack and reached inside to pull out two metal disks. They were each two inches thick and three inches wide. He held them out as he said "Here"

Sonic and Knuckles each took one and looked them over. "What are they?" Asked Knuckles.

"Storage disks. All you have to do is place this side on any item, click the top and voila. It is safely stored and easy to put away." Tails instructed proudly as his tails swooshed behind him. Cream beamed at the clever fox and suppressed her giggles as she watch his twin tails do the same movement they always do when Tails was showing off.

"Neat, this will come in handy." Knuckles said as he tried it out. Just as Tails had said, his bag was gone and in the disk.

"To get it back, just click it fast two times." Tails said as Knuckles put it away. Sonic was about to try his out when he heard a familiar voice.

"I see you guys got same new toys" Rouge said coolly as she strutted up to Knuckles and linked arms with him. As she rested her head on his shoulder, Knuckles turned and coughed into fist to try and hide his blush. Sonic was about to say something smart when he heard Cream cry out.

"Hi Amy!"

"Hi Cream, Tails." Amy said happily as she hugged her friends.

"Cute Cat." Amy commented as she pulled away.

"Tails won it for me!" Cream said proudly as she hugged it to her just liked Rouge had done earlier. Rouge looked over at Sonic and smirked. "Hey Amy, I wonder if Sonic won anything for you."

Sonic and Amy froze as they remembered the deal they had made before they bumped into all of their friends. Amy's eyes widened even more when she the saw bag Sonic had with him.

"How many games did you play!" Amy asked.

"Twenty two, but we both came out even." Sonic answered as he put his bag down and looked for the prize he had just won before bumping into Tails and Cream.

"Here you go." Sonic said as he held out the soft toy. It was soft cute pink bunny, almost like Rouge's but the ears flopped down. The other difference was, that instead of a bow around its neck, the bunny had a red heart pillow in its hands.

"Oh, Sonic," Amy said breathlessly as she reach out for it, "it's perfect. Thank you."

Rouge winked up at Knuckles as Tails and Cream held hands and smiled at the two hedgehogs. Amy hugged Sonic and quickly whispered in his ear "Now?" "Later." He quickly answered back as they pulled away.

Cream frowned a bit as Rouge rolled her eyes. Knuckles and Tails looked at each other and shrugged. Amy never acted so calmly around Sonic before so it didn't make much sense to start now. Seeing that the two would never get anywhere with a crowd around Rouge cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

"Well it was nice seeing you guys but there's still plenty of things Knuckles wanted to see."

"There is?" Knuckles asked. Rouge nudged him a bit and Knuckles said "Uh, yeah. Like I said, I haven't been to the other side of the game area."

Cream nodded, taking Rouge's hint and turned to Amy and Sonic saying "Tails and I haven't eaten in a while, I think we should head off too."

"Oh, okay. Maybe we will see you guys at the show later." Amy said looking around at her friends.

"Sure."

"Yep."

"Sounds good."

"We will see you there, Amy." Said Rouge as she gave her a look. Amy nodded, knowing that Rouge was telling her not to forget her promise. Cream saw the exchange and wondered what it meant. Sonic was more than ready to get away from the others that he stored his bag away and took Amy's hand.

"Well, we'll see you guys later." Sonic said as he lead Amy way. Rouge knew that Sonic would take care of her, but her spy alarm was going off like mad. Amy hearing things, like a low whistle, didn't not help her fears.

"Sonic!" Rouge called out as she let go of Knuckle's arm. Hearing the concern in her voice Knuckles looked at her with even more suspicion. Sonic stopped and looked at Rouge.

"Don't let her out of your sight. She's so pretty that someone would steal her away." Rouge said trying to be playful, but she really hoped that Sonic would somehow understand her that Amy just might be in danger. Sonic gulped and laughed nervously as Amy glared at Rouge. "Alright Rouge, duly noted."

Rouge watched them go and sighed heavily.

"What was that about?" Knuckles asked. Even if Sonic didn't understand, Knuckles could tell that she was trying to tell him something.

"I'll tell you in a bit." Rouge said lowly as she turned to Tails and Cream. "Well you two have fun and behave yourselves." And without another word Rouge and Knuckles walked away quickly. Tails was blushing again and laughing nervously as he waved goodbye to them. Cream on the other hand was in deep thought as she ignored Rouge's subliminal message.

"Tails?" Cream said as she turned to the still laughing fox. Tails stopped and looked at her.

"I think something is up."

XXX

Scourge scoffed as Rouge called out to Sonic to give him a warning. Still he was pleased that the rest of the group was going their separate ways. Scourge was two booths down from the aisle Sonic and Amy were walking. He turned so not to be seen but glanced over his shoulder as they walked passed him. He turned around to make sure her friends weren't planning on following. When he saw Rouge and Knuckles walk the other way he started walking again, careful to keep his distance.

He followed them for while, thinking of a way to get to her when he saw Sonic and Amy stop and looked around. Scourge got behind a tent before they could spot him. Sonic and Amy then slipped behind another tent. _'What the heck are they hiding?' _Scourge thought as he sped up to get a closer look, he stood on the other side of the tent and felt his jaw drop.

Amy had her arms around Sonic's neck and was gently kissing him on the cheek. She pulled away and smiled sweetly saying "There, my thanks for my prize. I know that deal was for every game you won but that would take all night." Sonic laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, making Scourge want to puke.

"Your right, the hot-head wouldn't give up until one of us came up on top. I'm just glad Tails gave us those storage disks. So what do you want to do now." Sonic asked Amy as they walked out from around the tent.

"Let's go on some rides, I heard this year they have a rollercoaster that's supposed to be the fastest in the world." Amy suggested knowing that Sonic wouldn't be able to resist.

"Oh, really?" Sonic said as he glanced down at Amy. "Well let's go then, so I can put that thing to shame."

'_Friends huh,'_ the dark hedgehog thought evilly, _'that looked a little too friendly.' _ He stopped to mule it over a bit, he knew where they we're going so he didn't worry too much about losing them. Amy not telling Sonic that he was in the area was a big advantage that just couldn't go wasted. As for the kiss, well he was not prepared to see it, but it was not entirely a surprise to him. Had the Amy in his time turned out halfway decent he would have…

He burst out laughing, as another thought crossed his mind. It was crazy, absurd, and wonderfully evil. The best thing about it was that it was going to drive both Sonic and Amy insane, literally. In fact he was going to start the process now. Like he was thinking before, if Amy was going to stay quite, might as well make the best of it.

XXX

The ride zoomed through its track at an incredible speed, turning unexpectedly from left to right, up and down. The sound of excited screams and rushing wind filled the air all around. The heart was accelerated at full speed as g-forces made the pink hedgehogs body move from side to side. Amy then felt a protecting arm pulling her close. Sonic's laugh ringed in her ears as the crazy train fell down the last and highest point of the ride. A scream escaped her lips as she buried her head into his chest.

"Open your eyes Amy!" he shouted over the noise.

Amy peeked, feeling the wind rushing against through her fur. Her face flushed as she saw that she was safely close to the boy who always ran from her. His arm was still wrapped around her while his other hand griped the bar. He kept looking forward not really knowing that he was holding Amy so close to him. The excitement in his eyes brought a smile to her lips as she continued to look up to him. His laugher died down as the ride came to a steady stop. His hand released the bar and went to his face to wipe away a tear. "That was fun." He said cheerfully as he pulled his arm back.

Amy sat up in her seat, still smiling at him. "So what do you think, being the current fastest thing alive how would you rate this ride?"

"Oh five stars all the way." He said as he climbed out of the cart, he held out his hand to help Amy out as well.

"Mind you, I can go so much faster than this thing will ever go, but it was a good effort on the maker's part." He finished as he winked at her. Amy giggled as a ride-worker handed Amy the toy Sonic had won for her.

"So what's next?" Sonic asked Amy as they left the ride. Amy thought it over as they walked through the crowd. She looked over the other rides when her eyes fell on someone that made her gasp. Sonic looked down at her asking what was wrong. Amy blinked her eyes and looked again, but he was gone. She did not see his whole face but it looked like a green hedgehog with a black leather jacket leaning against a pole.

"It was nothing, I thought I saw something but it was my imagination." Amy said hurriedly. _'It must have been another hedgehog, Scourge is not the only green one around I'm sure.' _She told herself.

"How about we go to the highest drop ride here!" Amy said excitedly to try and distract Sonic from her odd behavior. Sonic smiled at her as he nodded his head, "Okay."

It didn't take them long to reach the next ride and get on. As the ride slowly lifted the platform up the tall tower, Amy looked out at the festival to try and relax her mind. Again her eye's fell on the same green hedgehog standing outside the gate for the ride she was on, facing the other way. She focused on him trying to see his face when Sonic turned to her, "Here we go, Ames."

"Hmm." She looked and saw that they made it to the top and that the drop would happen at any second. She quickly turn to look for the green hedgehog, but he was gone and the platform dropped. She closed her eyes and looked away as she fell. When the ride was finally over she got out of the seat and hurried to the outside gate. Her mind was running so fast she didn't hear Sonic tell her to wait. She stopped at the exit and looked around at all the people, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Amy, wait up. I thought I was supposed to be the impatient one. Amy?" Sonic said as he stared at her. She acted like she was looking for someone important. He frowned and put his hand on her shoulder. She jumped, smacking his hand away and turning around.

"Oh, sorry Sonic."

"Amy what's going on, your acting like you did back at the restaurant." Sonic said worriedly. Amy sighed, she had the terrible feeling that Rouge might've been right and that she should have told Sonic about Scourge earlier.

"Sorry, it's just that I thought I saw someone I knew standing here, but I guess I was wrong." It wasn't a complete lie, but it still felt wrong. She looked at Sonic and saw that he didn't buy it. "Amy…"

"Oh! I almost forgot! Sonic can you wait here so I can go get my prize back?" Amy said worriedly, Sonic sighed. Despite how long he has known Amy, he's never gotten used to her mood swings.

"Okay." He nodded at her. Amy turned and ran back into the gate to find the man she who had taken her bunny. Sonic had offered to store it away with the other prizes he had win for her, but she refused saying that it was too cute to be put away. Amy looked around franticly knowing that Sonic's patience would be running out by now. Also she had promised Rouge not to go off on her own so this was a big no-no. She spotted the man and ran over to him.

XXX

Outside, Sonic was tapping his foot as he waited for Amy to come back. He didn't believe that nothing was going on, Amy was never any good at keeping things from him. That, and the fact that Rouge gave him a warning about Amy being stolen away. But by who? Not Eggman surely, it wouldn't be the first, but he was sure he gave the fat genius a run for his money. So who else?

Before Sonic could go through his own list of enemies he stumbled forward as he felt someone throwing arm their around him. He heard her giggles and smiled to himself. Amy took him by surprise and was hugging him tight. "I almost forgot to pay my part for the ride." She said smoothly in his ear. Sonic flushed as she pulled from the embrace.

"Come on, there's still plenty to see before the show." She said as she pulled his hand and leading him away.

Sonic let Amy lead the way as he kept holding onto her hand. He swallowed smoothly, still not used to the whole being-with-Amy thing. He was really grateful that Amy had promise to keep her emotions in check. Even though it was his great idea to have her hug and kiss him as payment he couldn't understand the weird flips his stomach did or the rapid beating in his chest. But there was one thing he was sure of as Amy let go of his hand and turned smiling up at him as she pointed to another ride. If anyone wanted to steal her away they will have to get pass him first.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Sonic is ready for a challenge but is he ready for the plan Scourge has up his sleeve? Find out in the next chapter **_**LET THE MADDNESS BEGIN. **_**Will try to finish soon, but please be patience. My Muse is being difficult at the moment but I do have the basic idea down. As always thank you for reading and please tell what you think. Cheers! **__

.


End file.
